Rebel without a clue
by GhostOfAMelody
Summary: I was dead - or rather, I was supposed to be - until I was pulled down from heaven to serve a purpose greater than I could even fathom; I was to be their weapon. I was to be the apocalypse.
1. Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Heaven's Door

I've been having far too many issues with my other fic so I'm scrapping it and writing this instead.

All rights belong to supernatural and any other respective companies,

Reviews are always appreciated,

Enjoy.

* * *

A couple driving down the interstate found her, a girl no older than twenty wandering down the shoulder of the road wearing a torn blue dress with a dirty jean jacket draped over her shoulders. She couldn't explain how she got there or where the two bright red handprints on her wrists came from. They later told police she had said only a few words and then stayed quiet for the rest of the trip into town.

"My name is Tempest Mathews," She said. "Prophet of the lord."

* * *

The two men stood in front of me, Agent Fogerty and Agent Fogerty, pretending as though they were only interested in why I was alive

"So, Tempest Mathews, born August 8, 1989, died March 25, 2009." The taller of the two slapped a case file onto the table in front of me. "And six months later, you're sitting here in front of us, care to explain?" The police had already accused me of faking my death, I was tired, hungry and all around done with people in general. The appearance of these two only served to tip the scales.

"So, Agent Fogerty, which one are you, John or Tom?" I threw the file off the table and onto the ground. The papers slipped out and I caught glimpses of autopsy reports, medical records, and a few dreadful highschool photographs. "Cut the crap, Winchesters. I know who you are and you know who I am. Don't act so surprised."

"Listen-"

"No, I'm not listening to you, I'm done listening to you. The last time I listened to you, I died. I'd rather not repeat that." I leaned back in my chair and surveyed the men in front of me with disinterest. Like a broken tape, flashes of memories flickered through my mind. The boys, the barn, watching the bruises spread over my abdomen as the demon tore its way out. It was all there but I couldn't combine it into one fluid clip, something was missing.

"We tried to save you-" Dean began. Always the hero.

"You promised to save me! You should've done a lot more than try." I picked at the sleeve of the jacket I was wearing. "This was yours wasn't it? How nice of you to cover me up before you left my body behind to rot in a barn."

"It wasn't our fault." It was Sam's turn to add his two cents.

"What every murderer says as he awaits his execution on death row." I rocked the chair back and forth, listening to the steady thump as the legs repeatedly hit the floor. "I'd appreciate it if you would just leave."

"We need to know what happened, why you came back." Dean persisted.

"I don't know, okay? I died, I was happy, then I woke up six feet under, trapped once more on this miserable planet." I said exasperatedly.

"The marks on your wrists though, how did you get those?"

"They were there when I clawed my way out of my grave. How am I supposed to know?" I shrugged and raised an eyebrow when Dean removed his suit jacket and undid the buttons on his shirt, exposing his left shoulder marked with a handprint identical to the ones on my wrists.

"Because this is what happened when I got pulled out of Hell. So you'd better start talking."


	2. There's A Bad Moon On The Rise

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Reviews are always appreciated,

Enjoy.

* * *

I told them all I could remember starting right after I died, how I'd ended up in heaven. I skipped over the details, they didn't need to hear how my heaven was a perpetual afternoon in a park I visited constantly as a child. The creak of the old swing set, the towering slides forming a fortress that was entirely my own, the long grassy field that lead to a line of trees and held all the goblins and witches forged by my imagination was something that felt only unique to me, even though I knew it wasn't. I focused more on the weather, how the sky had been a dark grey and the air held the faint, electric smell of ozone; forever the calm before the storm. I could even hear the distant rumble of thunder and see occasional flash of lightning just beyond the trees. It had stayed that way for ages until one day the wind picked up.

"And?" Sam prompted, looking far too into the story.

"The storm rolled in and next thing I knew I was struggling to breathe through a mouthful of dirt." I shrugged and finished rather anticlimactically.

"You told the people who found you that you were a prophet." Dean said.

"Yeah, just seemed like the right thing to say at the time. 'Tempest Mathews, prophet of the lord' has a nice ring to it. I don't know what it means though..."

"The last prophet we met predicted our futures." Sam gave me a pointed look as though he expected me to start reading their palms.

"As far as I know, I have gained no otherworldly powers from dying. I can bend my thumb back really far though." I started to demonstrate but Dean stopped me, looking mildly nauseated as he did so.

"That's okay, we don't need to see."

"Fine by me. Have anything else to pester me about? I've had a long day and would appreciate a nap before my parents come to pick me up. Their flight should be landing soon." I drummed my fingers impatiently on my leg.

"No, no, I guess that's all for now...here's our number, call us if anything comes up or if you remember anything else that could be important." Sam handed me a small slip of paper which I stowed carelessly in the pocket of my jacket.

"Dont think I will but thanks for the thought. This will all turn out to be nothing in the end so don't get your hopes up." He gave me a long, searching look.

"I doubt that. We'll be in touch." With that, the two brothers exited the room - and my life - once more. I can't say I was sad to see them go, the last time we had met up hadn't exactly ended well for me. I could place the entirety of the blame on them, however, my own stupidity had been the cause of my demon possession. Late night parties, large quantities of alcohol, and Ouija boards are never a good mix.

I rested my eyes for a few hours before my parents showed up, all screaming and happy to see me. I surprised even myself by bursting into tears upon their arrival. I had felt rather detached from everything up until that moment and it was a relief for some sort of normality to resume. They were highly skeptical of the police's claims that I had faked my own death but couldn't come up with an alternate explanation on their own either. They settled for some strange coma scenario and we headed off, choosing to spend the night in a local motel before we went back home.I only half listened as my mom rambled on about how excited all my friends and family were to see me again. I couldn't manufacture the same excitement; looking back on my past life felt like watching a movie about someone else's life. I couldn't connect; whoever I had been then, I wasn't the same person now. And that scared me more than anything.

My parents allowed me to have my own room for the night, something I was exponentially thankful for. I needed the time to sort my thoughts out. My memory was full of gaps that felt deliberately placed. If I could fill them in then I knew my questions would be answered, if that was even possible. I fell into a restless sleep, my dreams full of dark shadows and a loud ringing noise that seemed oddly familiar. I awoke bathed in sweat and not alone.

"You need to come with me now." A rough voice said from beside my bed. I didn't recognize it or the man who owned it. Even as my eyes adjusted, I could only make out the vague outline of a person beside me.

"Who are you?" I shifted as far as I could to the other side of the bed and groped around blindly trying to find the lamp switch. "Do I know you?"

"My name is Castiel," He began just as I wrapped my hand around the small chain and gave it a tug, filling the room with a dim, yellow glow. My eyes readjusted once again but the man beside me didnt look any more familiar. His dark hair and light blue eyes were rather nondescript but his trench coat gave me a slight flasher vibe. "I'm afraid you don't."

"Then why are you here? Why do I have to leave with you?" I inched my way towards the edge of the bed, careful not to make any sudden movements in case he went squirrelly and tried to attack me. This "Castiel" person was obviously some deranged madman or crazed junkie, even if he didn't look like either.

"I'm here to save you, we don't have much time so you'll need to-" What I needed to do was cut off short by a large flash of light that filled the room and shattered the lightbulb in the lamp, plunging the room into darkness once more after it had faded. I could tell Castiel was gone but a gut feeling told me there were more people coming. Not taking my chances with the door, I crawled under the bed and remained there until three men in suits dragged me out from under it.


	3. I Believe In Yesterday

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Reviews are always very much appreciated,

Enjoy!

* * *

Being dead had been a lot easier than being alive again. In death I had at least been free to do what I wanted and hadn't been handcuffed to a chair in some dingy basement surrounded by a small army of intense looking bodyguards. After being literally dragged out of my hotel room, I had ended up in the basement by what can only be described as teleportation. The idea of it would've seemed weird to me before but not now, not after I had been raised from the dead.

"Is there a reason I'm here? Don't think my parents won't do everything they can to get me back after all we've been through. My dad may look small but he can punch like a motherfu-" my rant was interuppted by the sound of heavy footsteps just outside then room. An unseen door opened from the middle of the cement wall to my right and a grey-haired man entered the room. He looked like a business man, maybe an accountant, but not the kind of kidnapper I would've expected.

"Just get it over with, no need to draw it out!" I bowed my head slightly. I surprised myself with the lack of fear I felt, I was mostly just tired.

"Pardon?"

"Killing me. That's what you're here to do isn't it?"

"Kill you? Why would we kill you? You are the prophet after all." He said cheerfully.

"What does that even mean?" I sighed.

"More than you could ever imagine. But we'll get back to that later, introductions first. My name is Zachariah, I'm in charge of watching over you for the next little while." Zachariah replied, still cheerful.

"I don't need to be watched over. I need to get home."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. We have a place for you here and you're going to be working to serve a higher power from here on out."

"Higher power? You work for the government?"

"No, I work for God. I'm an angel, the men you see around you are also angels." He gestured around the room. "We need you to save the world."

"Wait, let me get this straight, you want a girl who was possessed by a demon to work for God. Doesn't that kind of contradict itself?" My eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"That was a small misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?! I died, in case you've forgotten."

"Yes, well, that was going to happen anyway. You see, the demons don't want you to save the world so one of their strongest possessed you in hopes of keeping you away from us. Thankfully, Sam and Dean came along and stopped them before they could do anymore harm to you. And because of them you came right back into our arms so we could prepare you."

"Prepare me for what?" None of this was making any sort of sense.

"Your destiny! Now, you aren't ready yet so we have a lot of work to do." Zachariah waved away my handcuffs and I rubbed my sore wrists.

"If my time in heaven was preparing me and I'm not ready, why did you bring me back to life?"

"We didn't. Someone else didn't want you to fulfill your destiny and saw it upon themselves to ruin it for you." He said bitterly and I remembered the man in the trenchcoat.

"Castiel..."

"Yes, you've met. No matter, we're here to keep you safe. If you'll just follow me I'll take you to your room. " A loud alarm began to blare as soon as he spoke and I could hear muffled shouting beyond the room. "Never mind, stay here for a moment, I have something to attend to." He strode out of the room and was followed by all but three of the guards. One stood behind me and the other two took watch over the door. The shouting outside momentarily increase din volume and then fell silent. As the minutes ticked past I grew uneasy and contemplated asking what was going on when there was a large flash of light behind me. I spun around to see my guard fall to the ground with a blade sticking out of his chest. Castiel bent down to pull it out as the other two converged on him.

"What? What are you doing here?" I asked him as he took place in front of me.

"Close your eyes." Was the gruff reply.

"Why?"

"Just do it." He said as he swung his blade towards the man approaching from his left and I clamped my hands over my eyes just as the tip went through the guard's shoulder. I could faintly see a flash of light, which was quickly followed by another and then a hand grabbed hold of my arm.

"Keep your eyes closed and follow me." I obeyed and soon had only Castiel's hand and voice to lead me through the mazelike hallways. I tried to keep track; we took a left, a right, another left, and then three more lefts before I stumbled over something and lost count. He did his best to give me warning so I could step over the various objects on the floor but there wasn't always enough time. I didn't know what it was I was tripping over, but it wasn't hard to guess.

"They're on to us, we gotta get out of here quickly before back up comes." I recognized Dean's voice approaching from our left and Castiel stopped suddenly. "Why are her eyes closed?"

"I figured it would be easier on her if she didn't see what was happening." Castiel replied. "We can leave now, we have everything we need."

"Hang on!" I didn't open my eyes but could assume they had turned to face me. "I'm not leaving with you, you're working with the demons or whatever. Zachariah said you were trying to stop me from fulfilling my destiny."

"And you believed that crap? Angels are douchebags, don't trust what they say." Dean laughed.

"We don't have time to argue, the others are coming, let's go." Castiel's grip on my arm tightened slightly and I opened my eyes to find we were back in the hotel. Except it wasn't my hotel room.

"Umm, you've got the wrong Holiday Inn..." I looked around at the cramped quarters; the beds covered in papers, the tables layered with guns.

"What do you mean?" Sam looked around the room, trying to spot what I found amiss.

"This isn't my hotel room, either you overshot it or..." My stomach lurched. "You never intended to bring me back to my hotel room."

"No, we didn't. We can't. There's too many things after you; you have to stick with us until we sort this out." Dean said, shifting several piles of paper around on the table.

I shook my head in disgust and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed nearest the door. "Things wouldn't be after me if you let me fulfill my destiny. Zachariah said I himself, I'm the prophet and am responsible for-"

"You're not the prophet." Castiel cut me off and I glowered at him.

"Excuse me? Zachariah said-"

"He lied. They're covering up what you actually are. You can't be a prophet, there can only be one prophet at a time and as far as we know, he's still alive. Not to mention your name isn't on the list of future prophets.'

"I can be an exception?"

"Not likely. You're special, there's no doubt about it, just not that kind of special." Dean added in.

"Then what am I?"

"Don't know. We'll find out though, dont you worry." He didn't meet my gaze. They knew exactly what I was, they just wouldn't say it. Feeling drained, I flopped back onto the bed.

"Is there anyway I could get a toothbrush and maybe a clean pair of pajamas and something to wear for tomorrow? I kind of just want to sleep, it's been a long day."

"You want us to go clothes shopping for you right now?" Dean gave a snort.

"I'm still wearing the dress I died in, so yes, I would appreciate it very much if I could have something else to put on." I glared at him for a few seconds before shaking my head. "Never mind about the clothes, I'd still like a toothbrush though and maybe some sleeping pills so I can get a good rest." I closed my eyes and waited until I heard Dean mumble something and then the door swing open and slam shut. A car engine started up outside and after a few seconds the sound faded off into the distance. I peeked open one eye and noticed Sam had left too, the only person left in the room was Castiel, who didn't seem to notice I was awake.

"What am I?" This time there was no one to speak for him and he looked guilty as he turned to face me.

"I was the one who pulled you out of heaven..."

"I know, I was told. You're avoiding my question. _What am I? "_

Castiel sighed and took his time mulling over the question, deciding on how to answer me. "You're the angel's last resort. A means to the end, so to speak."

"The end?"

"Of the world." I had to laugh at this response.

"How am I supposed to believe that a bunch of angels are using a twenty-year old girl to start the apocalypse? I can't even do my own taxes!"

"They aren't going to use you now, youre too human. But it won't take the long to hollow you out and use you as a vessel for the true weapon." Castiel didn't share my amusement and I felt the grin slide off my face.

"But you're not gonna let that happen right? I'm not gonna let that happen."

"We'll try our best." His answer was far from reassuring. The Winchester's had tried their best to save me and I had died; I had always tried my best in school and could never scrape together more than average grades. Castiel had tried his best to keep the angels from getting to me and yet they got past his defenses in less than a second. No ones best was ever good enough and I doubted it ever would be. As I chewed my lip and thought this over, the front door opened again and several small objects pelted me.

"There's your toothbrush, toothpaste, sleeping pills, and a granola bar because I was feeling generous. Sam also offered up one of his shirts for you to wear as a nightgown, you lucky girl." Dean said as he entered the room giving me a wink. He seemed in better spirits than when he had left.

"Thanks, I'm gonna go wash up." I smiled at him and grabbed my toiletries before heading down the hallway to the tiny bathroom. I half considered locking the door but decided against that and kept it open just a crack, I didn't want to complicate things for them. Taking my time brushing my teeth, I could feel anxiety begin to rise in the pit of my stomach. I spat out the toothpaste and rinsed the sink before reaching for the bottle of sleeping pills. I popped off the lid with shaking hands and held the bottle up to my lips, closing my eyes and trying to work up the courage to tip the bottle.

"Don't." Sam's voice startled me and I dropped the bottle into the sink. I spun around to see him standing in the doorway, a large T-shirt draped over one arm and a very disappointed look on his face.

"I can't do this anymore. Everything was okay, I had made peace with myself, and then I just got dragged back down into this shithole and I just can't do this." Tears began to spill out from my eyes and I kept my gaze trained on the pills in the sink, watching as they slowly dissolved in the leftover water.

"This is not the answer. You take those pills and you end up right back in heaven, straight into the angels clutches." He made an effort to keep his voice low enough so the others wouldn't here, something I was eternally grateful for.

"But I wouldnt choose to go back there! I do have a choice, don't I? Whether or not to stay on earth. I did last time." I could still remember the face of the reaper who had helped me cross over to the other side; she had been very pretty.

"They would find a way to get you back, I have no doubts about that. Or Hell would get a hold of you and we'd essentially be back to square one. Either way it wouldn't end as peacefully as you'd want it it to." His voice softened considerably. "Listen, I get it. You're exhausted, you're confused, you don't know who or what to believe. You've had a taste of heaven and know why it's called that. But you have to trust me when I say we can help you. I promise we will keep you safe. I promise that I'll let nothing hurt you, you just have to trust us. Can you do that?"

"Yes..." I hesitated for a moment. "Can you not tell Dean about this?"

"I won't. But if I see you with even one of those pills in your mouth, I'm gonna force you to spit it out." He handed over the shirt and gave me a warning glare.

"I know...Thanks Sam." I smiled at him and he headed back down the hall. It took a few extra minutes for me to clean the sink up and change, and by the time I got back out into he main room, both brothers were asleep and Castiel had taken up guard by the door. A number of strange symbols had been painted on the door and windows; several of which I recognized from my exorcism. I noticed one of the double beds had been left empty for me and Dean was sleeping on the couch instead. I felt a strange rush of warmth towards him, towards all of them. They barely knew me and yet were sacrificing so much for me, even if it was something as little as a comfy mattress. It was stupid of me to judge them so harshly and make such rash decisions. As I carefully folded up my dress and jacket and placed it on the pillow beside mine, I mused over the fact that I'd have a literal angel watching over me that night.

Maybe their best was going to be good enough in the end.


	4. See You On The Dark Side Of The Moon

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Reviews are always appreciated,

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* * *

The Winchester form of protection wasn't all I had expected it to be. It was less of a battle and more of an endless blur of hotel rooms. We ran for weeks, there was no other word for it than running. We had no plan and I highly suspected we would keep on the move until Sam or Dean thought of something, or until the angels caught up. It was inevitable, I knew that, they knew that, even Cas knew it. He hand done all he could, from carving a concealment charms into my ribs, to standing vigil each night. Then he had just got up and left one day, it had been about five days since we had seen him. I could even hear Dean praying to him at night sometimes, just an endless babble of pleading to come back and help. We couldn't face the angels on our own, and there was no saying when they'd show up. Not to mention we had more problems cropping up every day.

"Dean? I don't care if that's a new episode of Dr Sexy you're watching, I don't want us to have to pay another night's stay because we miss check out. " I popped my head into the mostly empty hotel room we had been in the process of vacating before Dean had gotten distracted by the TV. He was supposed to be bringing the last few bags out to the car for Sam and I to load in, but after ten minutes I had seen the screen flickering through the front window.

"Huh? Oh, I'll be right out, just one sec..." He fumbled with the remote and hastily shut off the TV before I could get a good look at what had been playing, but that didn't lessen my suspicions.

"What were you watching?"

"Dr. Sexy, let's go before Sam gets mad." He threw the remote onto the bed behind him and grabbed his bag, ushering me out the door.

"No, it wasn't." I ducked under his arm and lunged at the TV, clicking it on before he could stop me. My face filled the screen, or rather, a terribly old photo of me did. Sinking down onto the bed, I watched as the news anchor talked about how the search efforts to find me had spread out over three counties. If only they could realize just how many miles away I actually was.

"They think I was abducted?"

"They aren't ruling out you being a runaway either. After the whole 'faking your death' stint, the police think this is all some big insurance fraud."

"What?! They're gonna try and arrest me then!" I watched as a hotline number scrolled across the bottom of the screen. "Do you think I should call and tell them what actually happened? Tell my parents I'm okay?"

"No, no one will believe you. And besides, you tell them you're alive and you might as well attach a flashing neon sign to your head for the angels to see. You'd be all over the news, it's not worth it." We watched in silence for a few more moments until the field reporter did an interview with my mother, only then did I shut it off.

"What do we do then? It's only a matter of time before someone recognizes me. I'm not gonna go into hiding until this whole thing blows over. If it blows over." I asked Dean and he frowned and stared at the blank screen for awhile, as if expecting the answer to appear. It must've worked because a slow smile began to spread across his face. "What's that look for?"

"Ever wondered how you'd look as a blonde?"

A few more hundred miles later, I sat staring unhappily at the face reflected back at me in the cracked bathroom mirror of our new hotel room. At the boys' insistence I no longer had my beautiful, long auburn hair that I had spent most of my teen years growing out. In it's place was a peroxide-blonde Bob that I had cut myself with a pair of kitchen shears. I hated it, it puffed my cheeks out and made me look five years old. It made me look weak.

"You'll never admit it but I think your new hair makes you look cute." Dena said as he walked into the room holding a small black box.

"It's terrible, don't even say that." I plucked dully at one dry strand. "Did you get my new ID?"

"Yep, you're now Tempest Winchester. Welcome to your new life." He held out the card to me with a fluorish and I examined every inch of the plastic. As an extra precaution Sam decided it would be better to not just look the part of a new person, but also have the proof of it.

"Let me guess, long lost sister? It's really the only route you can take with it.."

"No, you're Sam's wife."

"What?!" I stared at Dean in disbelief. "You said we were gonna be blood related, not married!"

"Yeah, well that's just not as believable now is it? You look nothing like Sam or I. Look, I even got you a pretty ring!" He opened the box revealing a small gold ring with a miniscule diamond on it.

"Wow, big spender. Did this cost you a whole dollar at the flea market?" I slipped it on my finger and squinted at the small gemstone.

"It was all I could find on short notice!"

"If Sam's ring has a bigger diamond than mine, I'm gonna be pissed." I mockingly glared at him and he rolled his eyes and left the room. I chuckled slightly but sobered up again when I looked back down at the ring. It was a temporary fix, just like the hair, just like the hotels. There was only so long that we could keep putting band aids on the problem and pretend that things weren't as bad as they actually were. I sighed and headed back out into the main room. Dean was already asleep but I could see Sam's dace illuminated by the light from his laptop. He spent mist of his spare time doing research, on what I didn't know, but he didn't seem to be getting much useful info from it anyway; his notebook was barely touched.

"Any good news, hubby?" I whispered to him as I sat on the foot of his bed.

"Hilarious, Tempy, and nothing yet. Don't worry, I'll find something soon." Sam had so much confidence in his work that it was oddly impressive. Where most people would be discouraged, he never gave up, always citing that someone somewhere had to know something. I wished I could agree with him.

"Don't stay up too late, you'll be too tired to enjoy our honeymoon in the Bahamas. Which reminds me did you remember to book our flights-" The quiet buzzing of my phone cut me off. It was a cheap, prepaid one that Dean had bought me in case I somehow got separated from them. I stared at the caller ID, half-expecting just another telemarketer but the number on the screen was much more familiar than that. My mother was calling me.

"Sam, that's my mom's number, what do I do?" I panicked and a dark look crossed his face.

"Give it here, I'll deal with it." He held out his hand but it had already stopped ringing and I let out a sigh of relief, marked by only slight disappointment.

"Must've been a wrong number." I laughed it off until it started ringing again and this time I didn't hesitate to answer it. The voice on the other end was not who I was expecting, but I recognized it nonetheless. The conversation was one sided, short and to the point. Two minutes after it had first rang, I was up and running around the room, frantically re-packing my duffel bag.

"What are you doing?" Sam hissed. "Who was that?"

"I don't have time to explain, I need to go."

"Go? What are you talking about?" Sam ran to the door before me and held it shut as I tried to leave.

"They have my parents. The angels have my parents." I explained and felt tears prick the corners of my eyes.

"They're bluffing, Tempy. How did they even get your number? We'll figure this out together, going on your own won't solve this."

"You always say that. I have to go on my own or they'll kill them. I can't take that sort of chance, Sam. Please move." I spoke calmly and stared him down but he refused to budge. "This is what happens when we do nothing, people get hurt. If we hadn't have spent so much time finding the best deals on hotels, then maybe my parents would still be okay. But you and your brother are in way over your heads and there's no way you can come out on top of this. Let me go, I can take care of myself." His grip on the door loosened and I was able to open it with some force.

"This is stupid, even for you. Don't think Dean and I won't be right behind you to clean up the mess you're gonna make. That is, if we can clean up the earth after you've destroyed it." He spoke coldly and I could hear Dean moving around in his bed. We had woken him up which was my cue to leave. Sam was giving me a choice, something Dean wouldn't do.

"That's the risk I'm willing to take I suppose. We all do crazy things for the ones we love, even you can't deny that. See you on the other side." I turned on my heel and walked out into the night. I had only what was in my bag and the coordinates to where I needed to be. Now I was in over my head, and there was nothing I could do but pray that I wasn't going to drown.


	5. Damn The Dark, Damn The Light

Eek, I fixed a few of the major spelling errors I had in the previous chapter. I type like a drunk at 1 a.m. apparently.

All rights belong to Supernatural and any other respective companies,

Reviews are always very much appreciated,

Enjoy!

* * *

I wrinkled my nose up in disgust at the heavy smell of mildew and rust around me as I stared up at the fairground's gates. It had taken me three buses and a taxi ride to get here, none of which were very eventful apart from the honeymoon trip I had to make up on the spot to appease a nosy old lady. The taxi drive seemed confused why I wanted to go to an abandoned amusement park but I made up another lie involving a photography class project and politely agreed not to tell the police he brought me to it if they arrested me for trespassing. Under may other circumstance I would be as far away from a place like this as possible, but now I had no choice but to move forward.

Thankfully I hadn't been the first one to break into the grounds so the lock was busted and the gate opened with little resistance. It was eerie wandering through the place, all the old buildings were still intact but slightly askew from the weight of all the years they had sat unused. Most of the roller coaster tracked were so covered with overgrown plants that only the highest point could be seen dropping off into a sea of green. If I had been an actual photographer, this would be the perfect spot for a photoshoot. But I had more pressing matters on my hands, the angels would be waiting for me in the old corral at the far end of the park. I found myself sprinting there as if the few extra seconds would somehow help. I was panting as I reached the front doors and let myself in, heading straight down the aisles to the pit below, not even pausing as I hopped over the barrier.

"I'm here! Show yourselves or something!" I shouted into the dark, squinting up at the empty seats feeling as though the gates opposite me were going to suddenly open and I would be faced with a lion or maybe even a bear. What did come through them was much worse than both of those combined.

"Ah! How nice of you to join us. It took you longer than Unexpected but we'll blame your tardiness on the fact that you're human." Zachariah smiled pleasantly at me as though we were having a chat by a water cooler.

"Where is he?"

"Right, the reason you came. It really did shock me how quickly you agreed to come just to rescue him." He turned around to face the gates and two more angels in suits came up, dragging a despondent Cas between the two of them. I had lied to Sam, the angels had never had my parents but he and Dean would never have let me go alone if they had known who was really being held hostage. I couldn't risk the two of them getting killed or getting in the way of my decisions.

"I owe him one. Simple as that."

"Or did you want to come here but just needed an excuse to justify your actions?" Zachariah's said dryly. "Your legs are shaking, does that mean I'm correct?"

"No, you aren't. I came here because I wanted to help out a friend. Now if you'll let him go, we'll be on our way." I made an effort to keep my legs still.

"You can't honestly believe I'll let that happen. I'll let Castiel go, he's not really much use to us anymore, but you aren't leaving so quickly."

"Don't do this, please." Cas said suddenly in a gravelly voice and I looked over at him. His face was a mess of blood but he still managed to fix me with a pleading stare.

"Stay ouf of this, Cas. This isnt your problem." I turned back to Zachariah but Cas wasn't finished yet.

"Yes it is. You help them and it becomes everyone's problem. What you're doing isn't some small scale destruction, it's wiping out the entire earth. You aren't saving anybody, there will be no survivors. Not even you." He struggled weakly against his captors and received a punch to the stomach in response. I thought about what he said for a few moments.

"Let me speak to Cas alone, please. I just need a couple minutes." I told Zachariah pleasantly.

"You have three minutes, that's it." Zachariah said and motioned to his lackeys to follow him. They dropped Cas unceremoniously onto the floor and left; I imagine Zachariah wouldn't have given me this time had he not been so sure he was close to closing the deal. I ran over to Cas and helped him stand up.

"You have no idea what you're doing." Cas jerked his arm out of my grasp and I had to brush off the twinge of hurt I felt,

"It'll be fine. They're expecting me to give in...they won't be expecting me to fight. I can fight this. Whatever weapon they try to turn me into, I won't let it stay. I'm still me, I'm still my own person." I reassured him.

"You don't think they'll be expecting that? I can get you out of here before they come back."

"They'll kill you if you do that!"

"So? It's better than what you're going to do if you let them go through with this." I could hear footsteps approaching once more. They had skimped on the full three minutes and now our time was almost up.

"Once you get out of here, go straight to Sam and Dean. Tell them what happened and tell them I'm sorry. Then I need you guys to meet me back here. I don't know when, just keep checking back at this spot, I promise you I'll be back here as soon as I can. Don't worry about me, I got this." I smiled but received only an uncertain stare in response as Zachariah took his place in front of us.

"Times up, what have you decided?" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"If you promise to let Cas go, I'll do what you want." My voice was steady, I didn't even have to fake confidence in my own choice this time.

"Excellent, you've made the right choice. Say goodbye to Castiel!" Zachariah gave a mocking wave before making a sweeping gesture as if brushing a fly off a desk, and Cas disappeared. "Oh don't look so worried, I didn't send him anywhere in particular. He should be okay...I think."

I wasn't listening to him as he rambled on about my "future" and "destiny". A knot had twisted in my stomach and I felt as though I was going to be sick. I knew I had made the right choice, there was no other choice I could've made that would've spared Cas and the Winchesters' lives. And yet part of me lacked confidence in myself. There was no way of knowing if I could really fight off whatever weapon I was going to become. If things went badly I wouldn't be able to fix the damage done. It was stupid of me to not have taken Cas up on his offer, I knew that, and yet I felt I needed to prove something; I didn't know what it was, just something.

Zachariah placed a hand on my arm and sent us back to the basement we had been at before, and I couldn't help but think that this had to be the first time in my life that I was absolutely terrified of a situation that I had total control over.


	6. It's Getting Hard To Be Someone

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* * *

I was having the worst case of déjà vu. What bugged me the most about not was that I had no reason to be having it at all. The circus tent I sat in was certainly not something I had visited as a child, and yet I knew I had been here before, more importantly, I knew I needed to be here. I couldn't even explain how I had gotten here and my body protested against me staying; I was exhausted, my head hurt and my chest felt as though someone had carved a hole into it and then packed it full of sand.

_Wait, _Said a little voice in my head whenever I contemplated leaving. _Just wait._

So I did.

It was hours later before anyone finally came. As a pair of highbeams lit up the wall opposite me I understood that I was waiting for someone, for a few people maybe. I didn't know who they were or anything, trying to recall anyone's face just produced a blurry image and painful throbbing in my head. The voices outside the tent grew louder and as the door opened I stood up, anxious to see who it was, and was promptly blinded by the very bright beam of a flashlight. I was blinking the stars ohtnof my eyes when a pair of arms wrapped around me.

"I knew you'd be here!" A low voice said excitedly in my ear. The combination of the sounds mixed with the feel of his leather jacket and smell of aftershave formed a name in my mind. Dean, this man was Dean. As my eyes readjusted to the gloom I saw the man next to him and realized that I knew him as well. Sam, Dean's younger brother and my -

"Fake husband." I said aloud and received chuckles from both men.

"Glad to see you haven't forgotten us. You were gone so long that we started to get worried that you weren't gonna make it back. We were actually just heading out of town when Dean said we should check one last time." Sam explained, grinning broadly in the low light. Make it back from where? They obviously knew something I didn't.

"How long was I gone?"

"Six weeks, just long enough for me to stop being pissed at you and, Sam can testify, I was more than pissed at what you did." Dean answered this time and must've mistaken my confusion for worry because he quickly backpedaled. "I'm not mad at you anymore, I don't understand why you did what you did but I'm sure you had your reasons."

"What did I do?" I watched as the smiles slidnoff the boys' faces and instantly felt as though I had done something wrong.

"You don't remember?"

"I don't remember much of anything, to be honest." I screwed up my face in concentration. "The most recent memory I have is of that God awful hotel in Salem, the one where the water kept coming out brown." The brothers shared a long look that I couldn't read.

"So you don't remember handing yourself over to the angels? Lying to us about your parents being captured? Risking your life and the whole world's for some stupid reason that you failed to mention?" Dean said bitterly and my jaw dropped. As a matter of fact, I didn't.

"Why would I do something stupid like that? That's not like me at all." _Oh yes it is,_ the voice in my head said but I ignored it. This was no time to be listening to my subconscious.

"I don't know, you were the one who did it!" Dean spluttered and I couldn't deny it. Looking at the two of them though something seemed off, someone was missing.

"Where's Cas?" Ah yes, I could remember my trench-coated guardian angel even if he was nowhere in sight.

"Waiting in the car. I told him to stay there in case things got ugly."

"Why would you think that?" The boys shared another look.

"We didn't exactly know what to expect when we got here. You gave the angels what they want, they got their vessel. For all we knew, you could've had a bomb attached to you." Sam explained and my hand automatically went up to my chest, expecting to feel wires or even a timer beneath the fabric of my shirt, but nothing was there.

"They must not have done anything then."

"Maybe. Or maybe we just can't see it." Dean shrugged but gave me a hard look as though he thought I was hiding something from them. I didn't blame him, I had been a bit of a douche to them earlier apparently.

"I don't know anything Dean, for real this time. I just want to go to bed." I gave him a tired smile and his gaze softened somewhat.

"Let's go find a hotel for the night then, we'll figure this out in the morning." He wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders and lead me outside. Waiting for us in the car, was indeed Cas, who looked happy to see me until the moment I sat beside him in the backseat. Then he only looked worried.

"I leave for six weeks and this is how you say hello? Rude much." I teased but he didn't respond, opting to look out the window beside him instead. His silence added to my weariness and we were hardly two miles down the road before I passed right out. I only half awoke when we stopped at what I guessed to be our hotel, a fact that was proven when someone lifted me out of my seat and carried me into a heavily air conditioned room by the feel of it. I was deposited onto a couch and a blanket slid up over my shoulders and I fell back into a deep sleep. I woke up again, more fully this time, jolted by the sound of raised voices coming from my right.

"...have no idea what we're getting ourselves into!" That was Sam's voice that had woken me up. Dean shushed him loudly before speaking as well.

"We've gotten into a lot worse before this. We promised to protect her." I craned my head slightly and saw the two of them sitting around a small table in the kitchenette, neither of whom seemed to notice I was awake.

"The last time was our fault, I get that, but she's not our responsibility anymore. We don't have to take care of her. It's safer for all of us if she's as far away as possible."

"So what do you suppose we do? Just dump her off on the side of a road somewhere? We can't do that."

"We take her back to her family! I'm sure they'd be glad to have her back, and then we can carry on and sort this out without her being around."

"She's not gonna like that, Sammy."

"I know she isn't but it's our best option. You heard what Cas said about her-" I didn't want to hear what Cas had said about me so I pulled the blanket over my head and clamped my hands over my ears until the voices in the kitchen were too muffled to make out.

_Don't mind about them, they're just scared. _The voice in my head piped up again.

"Of what?" I whispered to myself.

_You, Silly. But don't worry, we'll make them pay for this, for treating you like a piece of garbage they can just toss aside at their convenience. Because you have something they dont, something they want but can never have. _the voice continued on and said a word that sent a strange feeling through me, a mix of both thrill and terror that was not entirely unwelcome.

_Power_, it said. _You have power._


	7. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Sorry for updating so late! This fic got kinda tossed on the wayside for a little bit. :/

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Reviews are always appreciated,

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* * *

Following the conversation I had heard the night before, I had fully expected to be handed my bag and shown the door when I got up in the morning. Instead, Dean handed me a bagel and asked if I wanted to do the crossword puzzle in the back of the newspaper. As I picked at my food, I waited for one of them to say something about our current situation. But the boys only talked about the current standings of sports teams that I had never heard of before. My new, and very bossy, subconscious pestered me to bring it up, I _needed _to know and they were clearly avoiding it.

"So..." I began nonchalantly.

"So what?" Sam asked as he refilled his coffee cup.

"Well, what's the plan? Are we gonna stay here for awhile, are we gonna go somewhere else, am I going to go somewhere else while you guys stay here?" Real subtle.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're coming with us. We're going to head down to our uncle Bobby's place. If anyone knows how to deal with this, it's going to be him. Once we get you settled in at his place, Sam and I are gonna go-"

"So you are leaving me behind then? Figures."

"We're not leaving you behind, we just think it's safer for you to not accompany us while we try to find a cure for you." Sam said lightly and I bit back a few snarky remarks.

"Fine. When are we leaving?"

"As soon as possible, shower if you need to and then pack up. We'll meet you out at the car." I had noticed that neither brother had looked me in the eye throughout the whole conversation. Abandoning the rest of my bagel, I took a long shower, waiting until I heard them both leave before I got out and started getting dressed. As I dried off, I couldn't help but notice something flicker in and out of view just beyond my peripheral vision, as though something was trying to be seen but couldn't quite summon up then energy to appear fully. I was pretty instantly freaked out by whatever it was and moved a lot faster as I got dressed and gathered the rest of my clothes, more than happy when I finally shut the motel door behind me and headed out to the car. I found myself still angry with the brothers, although I couldnt really explain why.

"All set? Took you long enough." Dean grumbled and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Quit your bitching and drive."

"Why are you suddenly so eager to get out of here?" Sam mused.

"It's nothing...But did either of you notice anything strange in there? Like see anything that seemed out of place?"

"No, it seemed perfectly fine to me...Are you okay, Tempy? Did you see anything?" Dean shot me a concerned glance.

"It's probably nothing...I think I'm just overtired that's all. Wake me up when we get there." I wrapped my jean jacket around my shoulders and settled down into my seat for a nap. I awoke sometime later when the light filtering in through the windows changed suddenly. At first I couldn't understand why the windows had gone a strange, opague white as we crept along the road, it became clear that we had hit a patch of fog. It was unnaturally dense and so bright that it blocked out any other natural source of light.

"I don't like fog." I said quietly.

"It's not like it can hurt us. It's just a little bit of bad weather, that's all." Dean laughed good naturedly but I could his hands were clenched tightly on the steering wheel and his forehead creased in concentration. Even the impala's highbeams only cut a small dent in the wall of white we faced.

"Its not the fog that scares me, it's what's in it that we can't see." No sooner had I spoken then something slammed into the side of the car sending it spinning off the road. Dean struggled to regain control but it was too late. The impala skidded sideways and smashed int something unseen. I hit the back of Dean's seat and blacked out.

When I came to, I found myself lying on the floor staring up at a tangle of tree branches that had been forced through the window. I struggled to sit up, flopping back to the floor as a bolt of pain shot through my entire body. It took all I had not to start crying as I felt small shards of glass work their way farther into my skin.

"Sam? Dean?" I received no response from the figures slumped over the dashboard and steering wheel. Whether they were dead or unconscious, it was hard to tell. Gritting my teeth, I braced my feet against the door nearest to me and pushed myself to the other side, nearly passing out again in the process. Once the black spots had faded out of my vision again, I reached up and grabbed hold of the door handle. Just before I could open the door, a noise outside stopped me. A heavy pounding had started on the roof and a dent was already starting to form. Something wanted in, and there was nothing I could do to keep it out.

* * *

Sam was the first to wake up. Groaning and shifting in his seat, he winced as the movement aggravated the throbbing in his head. He glanced to his left and saw Dean slumped over the steering wheel, a stream of blood dripping slowly onto his leg.

"Dean? Dean! Wake up!" He reached over and shook his brother's shoulder, feeling relieved when he slowly sat up, his face a mess of blood.

"Sammy, what happened?" Dean asked, using his sleeve to wipe some of the blood off his face. Thankfully most of it seemed to originate from his broken nose and split lip.

"Something hit us, that's all I remember." Sam frowned.

"Doesn't matter." Dean said thickly. "Tempy? You alright back there?" There was no response.

"Tempy?" Sam slowly turned himself over to stare into the backseat. It was empty; the right side passenger door left wide open. "Dean, she's not here. Do you think she went to go get help?"

"Not leaving a trail like that." Dean muttered staring out the cracked windshield at a smudged trail of blood leading away from the car. Unable to do anything else, the boys lapsed into silence as the fog settled onto the car like ash.


	8. Burn, Baby, Burn

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* * *

_Wake up._

I didn't know who was talking to me but I sure as hell didn't want to listen to them at that moment. My whole body hurt, my mind felt like it had been disassembled and then reassembled by someone who only had a slight inkling of what a brain should look like, and my ass was numb from sitting on what felt like a concrete floor for who knows how long.

_Open your eyes._

This command I definitely didn't want to obey. I could remember enough from the car accident to know that wherever I was now, it was not somewhere I wanted to be. I opted to leave my eyes closed, and this no doubt angered the person I was with.

_Listen to me!_

Now _I_ was getting frustrated. I opened my eyes, fully ready to ream out whoever thought they could boss me around but found myself looking at...me. Well, a slightly altered version of myself. This "me" had my old long hair and was dressed to the nines in leather pants and a pair of heels that made my feet hurt even just from looking at them. She held herself differently too, I think that was the biggest change, with all the grace and confidence that I could never muster up.

"Who are you?" I asked, even though I wasn't entirely sure she was even real.

_Tempest Matthews._

"So you are me."

_Not quite. You're little Tempy Winchester. I am the storm while you are the calm before it. I am a part of you, but I'm not you._

"Wait...you're the voice I've been hearing this whole time? I bet you were what I saw in the bathroom too. But how does that make sense? Have I gone crazy or something?" Tempest gave a silvery laugh and walked over to me and poked me in the chest.

_No, I literally am a part of you, idiot. A response to the weapon inside of you, an inhibitor of your power. Basically, I exist to keep you in check...and release the hounds every now and again._

"The weapon of mass destruction planted inside of me has a sassy conscience? Great..Just what I needed." I sighed and closed my eyes again. When I opened them Tempest was gone, but I knew only from sight and not mind. I could feel her resting comfortably in the back of my head, like a headache that wouldnt go away. I took a minute to actually figure out where I was. It was some sort of warehouse, and I guess that I was chained to some metal shelving unit; there was a sharp metal pole digging painfuly into my back. I didn't need Tempest to tell me not to scream for help, I could already tell I far away from any sort of help.

"Ummm Hello? Is there anyone else in here?" I called out and a heard the sound of a door opening on one far end. Five, maybe six, people started walking towards me based off the footsteps I heard. A set of lights switched on, temporarily blinding me. I had already adjusted to the dark.

"Ahh, you're awake. How nice! And just in time too, your friends showed up!" A tall man in a suit said. He was at the forefront of the group, so I guessed him to be the leader of the pack. His black eyes gave away what he was; a demon. Most of the rest of his group had them as well except for two men near the back; Sam and Dean, looking like hell but still alive.

"How did you guys find me?" I asked the brothers incredulously but the demon answered for them.

"They followed your blood trail. You've lost quite a bit. They weren't supposed to find you, but your abducted proved not to be the most capable for the job." He shot a dark look towards one of the men standing off to the side who kept twitching slightly and giggling to himself. "But nevertheless, the more the merrier. Tie them up, boys." The demons guarding the brothers chained them to shelving units just across from me. As was their style, both Winchesters resisted heavily.

"Did Crowley put you up to this? Why isn't he here?" Dean snapped, trying in vain to kick out the knees of the demon holding on to him.

"He had other matters to attend to and couldn't be present for this." The head-demon said, speaking as if we were in some sort of business meeting.

"And why are we here?" The demon looked at me like I was stupid.

"Has no one told you anything? You poor girl..."

"I've been told enough. But not why I'm here! The angels left that part out when they kidnapped me."

"The angels are the reason you're here. We can't have you in their control, that would be the end of everything but their cozy little heaven. You're here so we can figure to disarm the bomb without setting it off."

"Let me guess, it's gonna kill me in the process."

"Most likely but it's a lot more difficult than that. We kill you now and you take down the whole world. You're an active volcano, my dear girl. We have to be careful about how we go about terminating you."

"Not gonna happen on our watch." Dean added in and Sam nodded.

"Oh right, I almost forgot about you two. I guess we'll have to dispose of you first and then figure out what to do with the girl. Oh won't that just piss those winged bastards off royally. Both the Winchesters and their prized possession torn away from them!" The demon clapped his hands together in mock cheer earning chuckles from his lackeys. It was at that moment I realized just how much the sound of his voice pissed me off. It had a off-putting nasally quality that just made my blood boil. That coupled with his threat of killing the Winchesters sparked a seed of rage in me that I had never experienced before. I wasn't just mad at this guy, I was seeing red.

"No. I am not anyone's prized possession, not the angels', not yours. And if you touch one hair on those boys' heads then I will tear you to shreds." I growled and got another round of chuckles in response.

"Awww, are you getting all worked up? How sweet, the little lamb thinks she's a lion." The twitchy demon said. All at once, something inside of me snapped; my chest burned as though it had been lit on fire and any rational thought was dispelled as only one thing became clear to me; I was going to kill every last one of these fuckers.

"I'm not a lion or a lamb, I am a storm." I said as I stood up, feeling no resistance from the chains anymore. Somewhere deep in the back of my mind Tempest smiled. "And no one in Heaven or Hell can stop me now."


	9. Hallelujah

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* * *

When I came to, I was lying flat on my back in the middle of some sticky puddle that was starting to soak into my clothes. I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there, the most my mind produced was a feeling of intense anger towards the demons that had kidnapped us and nothing else. Speaking of which, I had no idea where they or Sam and Dean were.

"Dean? Sam? Are you guys still here?" I called out, opting to ignore any potential demon threat.

"Uhhhh, yeah." Came the shaky response from Dean.

"Well, where are you guys?"

"Just a bit over to your left, Tempest." I frowned at that. Dean never called me Tempest unless he was pissed at me. He didn't sound mad though, he sounded scared. I sat up and looked over my left shoulder, sure enough Sam and Dean were crouching behind a large pile of scrap metal that I didn't remember seeing before. Both of them were covered in blood but didn't seem to be in any pain.

"Holy crap! Are you okay?...wait a minute," I scanned the area around them, the whole room seemed to be painted with crimson streaks. "What the hell happened here?"

"Maybe...Maybe you should look down, Tempest." Sam flinched away from me as soon as he spoke, as if he expected to be attacked. I looked down at the puddle I had been lying in; it was all blood.

"Dean?! Dean, what happened." I panicked and tried to stand up but ending up slipping and falling back into it. "Someone please tell me what's going on!"

"You just sort of snapped. If I had to compare you to something, I would say you looked a little like the Hulk. You made good on your promise of tearing them to shreds." Dean said cautiously.

"I don't believe you." I felt sick to my stomach.

"You don't have to, but it doesn't change the fact that you did it." I shook my head at him and tried to stand up again. My legs were shaking too much to support my weight so I sank back down on my knees and held out a hand towards the brothers.

"Can one of you please help me up? I need some fresh air." I said quietly. They both exchanged a look of fear and neither moved forward to give me a hand.

"Please? I really need some help." I started to crawl towards them and both brothers moved farther away from me, drawing their weapons as they did so. They thought it was an act; they thought I was going to hurt them.

"I'm sorry, Tempest, but I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" I shrieked and found myself looking down the barrels of two guns. "I'm not Tempest, I'm not _her. _Im just Tempy, I'm your friend and I won't hurt you. I promise I won't hurt you! I'm just sick, I need you to help me. Why won't you help me?!"

"Who's _her_?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"Tempest! The weapon! She's the one doing all this, not me. She told me so, she was responsible for...for..." I struggled to remember the phrasing she and used. "_Releasing the hounds! _ That's what she called it! You have to believe me!" I was reaching near hysteria.

"Let me get this straight, whatever the angels put inside of you has been talking to you this whole time and you didn't think to mention it to us? If you told us sooner we might not be in this mess right now." Sam was angry now.

"I didn't think anything of it, I just thought I was talking to myself more than usual. Please don't be mad at me. Just don't be mad, I need you guys! I need you to help me." I didn't need to be telepathic to know what they were thinking; It was too late for me, their help would do nothing. I was too far gone.


	10. Never Break The Chain

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* * *

"Ah yes, saved at last. I can feel the love!" I mumbled angrily to myself as I tossed and turned on the small bed I had been given. The iron walls around me offered no comfort. The Winchesters' honary uncle and confidant, Bobby Singer, had showed up at the warehouse just in time to convince the boys not to completely abandon me and/or shoot me. I was elated right up until the moment they showed me the so-called "panic room" in the basement of Bobby's house and then locked me in it. It was "for my own good" and "just until they figured stuff out". No I was more or less trapped in a dingy little room with not even a decent book to read. At least they hadn't tried to use the restraints that dangled from the bed posts, they probably thought it wouldn't have ended well. I was inclined to agree with them. Shutting my eyes, I counted exactly 274 sheep before the voice I had learned to loathe was whispering in my ear.

_That was fun, huh?_

I opened them again and looked over at Tempest who was staring at the Bo Derek poster on the wall.

"Not exactly. Look where it got me!" I gestured at our surroundings.

_But it felt good to be powerful didn't it? I figured I would just give them a taste of your true potential._

"I don't want any of this true potential crap! I get it already; I'm walking the fine line between good and evil. Why won't you just leave me alone?" I turned my back on her but it was no use, she just set about pacing around the room.

_Good and evil? When will you understand there's no such thing? You are walking the line between fantasy and the inevitable. What your childish little heart desires and the cold path that has been laid out for you?_

"I don't have to walk down it." I set my jaw stubbornly.

_I will drag you kicking and screaming down it if I have to. You have to get it out of your head that you are some damsel in distress. You aren't doing this for the angels, you aren't doing this for the demons, and you aren't doing this for Sam and Dean Winchester. You're doing this for us; we will watch the world burn. _she sneered and leaned in close. _The angels don't realize that the weapon inside you will do more than just take out the world and freeze Hell, it'll blow holes right into their own home. We will dance on Heaven's ashes and the bones of mankind. Heaven and Hell hath no fury like that of the weapon that they themselves created. Sleep tight, my love, and dream of your kingdom come._

She pressed her cold lips to my forehead and was gone once more. I felt strangely more at ease than I had before if not only for the fact that so far she was the only person(?) to show any sort of faith in me. I ran my fingers lightly over the handprints on my wrists and realized there was one more person I needed to talk to.

"Dean?" I knew he was posted just outside the door. He, Sam, and Bobby had been taking shifts watching over me.

"If you have to pee there's a bucket in the corner, I'm not letting you out." His muffled reply came through the door.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "I need a favour actually."

"If it involves using the bathroom, I'm going to have to politely decline.."

"No! Gross! Just listen, I need to talk to Cas."

"No." There was no hesitation whatsoever.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll do something stupid like convince him to smuggle you out of here. He's very impressionable that way. Not. Happening."

"I have been through a whole-fucking- lot these past few days, Dean Winchester and the one and only thing I am now asking of myou is to let me speak to the one person in this world who will talk to me without ducking for cover or locking me up. Please just let me have five minutes to talk to Castiel, I just need to ask him a few questions." I fumed and waited for his response. I heard footsteps head upstairs and I slammed my fists against the metal railing on the bed. After about twmety minutes the fottsteps returned and the door to the room swung open. Dean and Cas were on the other side. I stared at them blankly.

"Why is she looking at us like that?" Cas asked Dean.

"That is the face of a person calmly losing their mind."

"That's an oxymoron, Dean..."

"Shut up and get in there!"

"I can't. Bobby has guarded the room all too well."

"Fine! Then you," Dean jabbed a finger in my direction. "Get out here and don't even think of running away." I walked out of the panic room slowly and shut the door behind me.

"Go on! You have five minutes." Dean leaned against the wall and gesture at Cas and I to start talking.

"Not until you leave, asshole." We glared at each other until he finally backed down.

"Five minutes. Don't try to pull anything." Dean stormed back upstairs leaving Cas and I on our own.

"I assume he told you what happened?" I said all most immediately.

"Yes."

"And that's exactly why I need your help. I need you to get me out of here."

A look of confusion washed over his face. "But Dean said..."

"What Dean said isn't nearly as important as what I need to do. What I've figured out is that there's really nope hope of dismantling this bomb on my own. Not only that but if we don't do something fast, I will be dancing on heaven's ashes and the bones of mankind."

"What?"

"Never mind. The point is, containing me won't do anything. There's no place you could put me that-"

"Purgatory." Cas interuppted suddenly.

"Huh?"

"We could always put you in purgatory. That way you'd be safe from the rest of the world."

"I will blow the shit out of purgatory if you ever mention sticking me in there again, got it?" He looked alarmed but didn't continue on about it so I considered that a win. "What we need to do is find the angel or demon or whatever who built the weapon and see if he put in an off switch. You're the only person who can help me." Cas didn't look convinced.

"You're assuming that this angel would give up the information necessary to figure that out. And that I would even agree to help you."

"There's always a way to get the info, Cas, that's not the issue. And you will help me. You were the one who saved me; you pulled me out of heaven, out of harm's way, even if it was just solely for the fact that you didn't want to see the world crumble. You saved my life, then I saved yours, and now we're back to you again. This isn't a matter of good versus evil, this is about the path laid out for us and the side trail we take to get around it. It's time to walk, Cas, and please take me with you this time." I stared expectantly at him and he reached out and placed his hand on my forehead. When everything came back into focus we were on the edge of a dark set of woods, just a few feet from a compact log cabin.

"Welcome back to Heaven." Cas said and we set off towards it.


End file.
